Planes, Trains & Automobiles
It’s hard to name Thanksgivings movies off the top of my head, but Planes, Trains and Automobiles has to best, right? E and I went and watched this at Des Moines’ historic Varsity Cinema, in an essentially sold out showing, and it was absolutely electric. And not just because theater had power issues, which it did. And popcorn issues. The line out the door of the theater was so long, that the popcorn machine couldn’t keep up, delaying the movie by about 15 minutes. And believe it or not, with 15 minutes to go, the screen shut off, and theater employee announced they were having power trouble and wouldn’t be able to get the screen back on. But if you’ve seen Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and who hasn’t, then it won’t surprise you to hear that the whole theater just kind of chuckled at not being able to finish the movie, as it’s theme - everything that can go wrong will go wrong was playing out in real life as well. E and I finished it back home, from front to back, it’s still one of the funniest movies I’ve seen. John Candy is iconic, and his “I like me” monologue is extremely moving. Steve Martin is also fascinating in this movie, playing more of a straight man, but still very funny, and really a perfect bouncing board for John Candy. Watching this also made me realize what a legendary run of movies John Hughes had in about a decade, this being approximately in the middle of them, and I don’t think I’ve appreciated his genius enough. One of the few movies I would happily re-watch.
-Z
I have watched this movie many, many times, but the chance to experience it in a packed theater during Thanksgiving week was definitely my favorite viewing experience (even despite the on-brand power outage at the theater that left us on our own to finish the last 15 minutes). There are SO many hilarious scenes that do not feel dated in the least - the experience of a nightmare travel experience is apparently universal. Steve Martin and John Candy are the perfect pair for this storyline. My only gripe - the scenes of Steve Martin’s family wistfully waiting for him at home really disrupt the comedy and do not seem very purposeful. Otherwise, I’m sure this is a film I’ll continue to revisit and enjoy for the rest of my life.
-E
